A MAN left homeless after being evicted from east London’s Carpenter’s Estate backed mothers yesterday who have been occupying abandoned flats after being turfed out of their hostel.

Mark Jones is one of hundreds of residents forced to leave the Stratford estate by Labour-controlled Newham Council.

But he says the Focus E15 mothers campaign had given him hope he may be able to move back to his former home.

“I was evicted from Carpenter’s Estate because the council want to turn this place into luxury apartments and shops,” he said.

“I’m homeless and I’m desperate to come home to my community.”

The estate has long been threatened for demolition by regeneration programmes and a bid by University College London to buy and build a research facility on the property.

Housing campaigners warn the borough’s homelessness is on the rise, with a reported 18,000 people currently on Newham’s council homes waiting list.

Mr Jones’s rallying cry came as the National Housing Federation (NHF) warned Britain still faces a desperate homes shortage.

Nationwide building society revealed yesterday that there has been a 0.2 per cent decrease in Britain’s average house prices.

But NHF head of policy Rachel Fisher warned that the first price drop in 16 months was nothing to celebrate.

She said: “Despite this slight dip in house prices, buying your own home is still way out of reach for thousands of people.

“We are in the midst of a housing crisis which will only get worse for this generation and the next if action isn’t taken now.”